Spiced Pear Oatmeal Crumble Cake
To skip the post and step-by-step instructions and go straight to recipe, click here.Are you over the holiday baking yet? Never, am I right? ;) If you’re looking for a new baking project that can double as both a delicious dessert and a festive breakfast, look no further. This warm oatmeal cake layered with soft sauteed pears and topped with cinnamon brown sugar crumble is a lovely winter treat to keep you feeling cozy this winter. Besides a little extra time to soak the oats and sautee the pears, it’s really quite easy and quick to pull together. Plus, the smell that will spread through your home while it’s baking is, *chef’s kiss*, almost as good as the cake itself. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Recipe Notes
Soaking the Oats: This cake is like a combination of a coffee cake and an old-fashioned oatmeal cake, which is made by soaking oats in hot liquid (usually water, but I like to use apple juice to add some more flavor). Soaking the oats makes them softer and more tender, making for a more pleasant end texture in the cake. Unsoaked oats will be hard and chewy.
Bartlett Pears: While other pears or even apples would be a tasty replacement for the bartletts in this recipe, I just love the taste and texture of bartlett pears. You just have to make sure they’re at the correct ripeness when you make this recipe - if they’re still mostly green, firm, and crunchy, they won’t soften up even when sauteed and baked. If they’re ripe to the point where they’re mushy, they will break down to a sauce when you try to sautee them. The pears should be a nice golden yellow or light yellowy green and give very slightly when you gently squeeze them. There are also red bartlett pears, which will ripen from a dark red to a bright red rather than green to yellow.
Crumble Topping: I love the crunch that a layer of buttery brown sugar crumble gives to this soft cake. The crumble is added only 10 minutes or so before the end of baking so that it doesn’t over-caramelize or burn, but stays as a crispy, sugary crunch. I also recommend keeping it refrigerated until the moment you sprinkle it onto the cake so that the butter doesn’t soften and create a homogenous doughy mixture, but rather stays nicely crumbly.
Step-By-Step Walk-Through
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Step 1:
Prep Oven and Pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Butter a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
Step 2:
Soak Oats
Add 1 ½ cups apple juice to a medium pan over high heat and bring to a boil.
As soon as it begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup rolled oats.
Let them soak for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. While soaking, move on to the next step.
Step 3:
Cook Pear Filling
While oats are soaking, make the pear filling. Peel and thinly slice 2 ripe bartlett pears.
Melt 2 tablespoons salted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the pears.
Sautee, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft and delicate, about 8 minutes.
Gently stir in 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon until the sugar is dissolved and coats the pears.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Step 4:
Make Batter
In a large mixing bowl, cream ½ cup salted butter and 1 cup brown sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste and mix with a large spoon until just combined.
Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (I highly recommend freshly ground over pre-ground) ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, and soaked oats and mix until just combined.
Pour half of the batter into the buttered pan.
Next, layer on the sauteed pears.
Top with the second half of the batter.
Bake for 40 minutes. While baking, move on to the next step.
Step 5:
Make Crumble
While the cake is baking, make the crumble. In a small mixing bowl, add ⅓ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons chopped cold salted butter, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and a generous dash of salt.
Use fingertips to massage the butter into the dry ingredients until fully incorporated and crumbly.
Refrigerate until the 40 minutes of bake time is up.
Step 6:
Bake Crumble
Once the 40 minutes of bake time is up, remove the cake from the oven and sprinkle the crumble over the cake in an even layer.
Return the cake to the oven and bake another 10 - 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Spiced Pear Oatmeal Crumble Cake
Servings: 9 Time: 90 minutes
Difficulty: Medium/Easy
Ingredients
For Cake:
1 ½ cups apple juice
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup softened salted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg (I highly recommend freshly ground over pre-ground)
½ tsp. ground cardamom
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
For Pear Layer:
2 ripe bartlett pears
2 TBS. salted butter
2 TBS. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
For Crumble Topping:
⅓ cup brown sugar
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 TBS. cold chopped salted butter
½ tsp. cinnamon
Generous dash of salt
Directions
Step 1: Prep oven and pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Butter a 9x9 inch square baking pan.
Step 2: Soak oats
Add apple juice to a medium pan over high heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, remove from heat and stir in the oats. Let them soak for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. While soaking, move on to the next step.
Step 3: Cook pear filling
While oats are soaking, make the pear filling. Peel and thinly slice the pears. Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the pears. Sautee, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft and delicate, about 8 minutes. Gently stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon until the sugar is dissolved and coats the pears. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Step 4: Make batter
In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix with a large spoon until just combined. Add the salt, baking soda, spices, flour, and soaked oats and mix until just combined. Pour half of the batter into the buttered pan. Next, layer on the sauteed pears. Top with the second half of the batter. Bake for 40 minutes. While baking, move on to the next step.
Step 5: Make crumble
While the cake is baking, make the crumble. In a small mixing bowl, add all crumble ingredients. Use fingertips to massage the butter into the dry ingredients until fully incorporated and crumbly. Refrigerate until the 40 minutes of bake time is up.
Step 6: Bake crumble
Once the 40 minutes of bake time is up, remove the cake from the oven and sprinkle the crumble over the cake in an even layer. Return the cake to the oven and bake another 10 - 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.